A Southern boy's search for true love, great yarn and the perfect evening of TV...

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Stitches South...

Last Saturday, Cristi and I took a little road trip to Atlanta for Stitches South.

We had such a great time at the event last year that we just had to go again. As you can imagine, it was one of those yarn overload kind of times. There were new yarns and goodies, along with tons and tons of knitters.

There were some interesting fashions, too. We kept joking that we should start a blog called People of Yarn Shows to resemble People of Wal-Mart.

Check this gal out:

(mercilessly ripped from Cristi, who was brave enough to Kinnear her)

What you can't see is her huge head scarf thing and the rather large bell shaped earrings that she was sporting. We kept bumping into her. I heard somebody (and I don't remember who) say at least she had on pants! Oy!

We also got to knit on a very big sock. It is really cool to think of the tons of knitters who have added their stitches to this monstrosity. I am just happy to not be the one turning the heel!

Seeing friends is the absolute best thing about going to events like these.

It was great to see the Atlanta contingent once again. I really enjoy seeing everybody and wish that I could see them more. One of these days, I am gonna go down there and join them on a knit night.

My pal Jane was there, but I didn't get to spend nearly as much time with her as I would have liked. I also got to hang out with Brittany and Wayne, which is always a hoot. Wayne was wearing a kilt and that was probably boosting their yarn and yarn bowl sales!

I also got to meet the brains behind Ravelry. Jess, Casey and Mary Heather were there and I got to say hey and thank you to them.

I used to follow Jess's blog way before Ravelry was even an idea, so it was nice to finally meet her. Her blog was one of the first I ever found. She impressed me because she replied whenever I left a comment and I have tried to model myself after that.

It was fun to meet them...

However, the coolest thing about the show was that I finally got to meet Heatherly. She and I have been emailing and reading each other's blogs for years. That is the part of the online knitting community that I love. We are total strangers, yet know each other so well. It was so much fun to actually be two feet away from one another instead of miles and miles. She is as much fun as I figured!

She and her husband have created the most awesome pattern charting software and were selling it at the marketplace. It is called Intwined Pattern Studio and it is awesome! I am not a designer (yet), but will be using this software whenever that happens. It looks really cool and I highly recommend it. Cristi was convinced and went home with a copy, so be watching her blog for tons of new designs that I know she will create with it.

Speaking of Cristi, she got interviewed for something while she was there. I am not sure what it was for, but Brittany's mom did her interview and Wayne ran the camera. It was kinda cool to watch, even though I have no clue what it was actually for.

You are probably wondering what I bought, aren't you? I really kinda blew my budget, but it was money well spent. There is a garment that I want to make and I found the perfect fiber for it. I will show you when I can get a decent pic, so keep watching the blog.

Stitches fell on my father's birthday this year. I told him that I was going to be in Atlanta, so he and my mom drove up from Alabama and had dinner with us. We ate a yummy meal and then hung out at a bookstore for a bit. Atlanta is the halfway point from home to Charlotte, so it worked out well.

It was great to be able to see my wonderful parents, along with so many friends that I enjoy being around.

glad you enjoyed it, and nice that time with family occurred. Actually, I had beenthinking about that sock. Your blog is the first one this year to mention it. Can't remember the reason it was started (brain fusion!!!), do you know? Looking forward to more pics
take care,
xx

Can we have a date to meet for some knitting next year? I was planning on going this year but then a trip to Key West literally fell into my lap and I couldn't not do that. It was fun but I want to go to Atlanta next year!!!!!

I can't believe how far behind I am in reading my Bloglines! It was fabulous seeing you, and I also wished we had been able to spend more time together. Next year for sure! I didn't know you were friends with one of the Intertwined designers. I bought a copy, and have already used it. I love how easy it is to use.